Posts tagged with Scammers

Malicious ads are on the rise and just as AdWords is an appealing platform for legitimate advertisers looking for a massive audience, Google's self-serve ad service is a juicy target for scammers looking for the same.

From ads that hawk scammy get-rich-quick products to ads that lead users to web pages infested with malware, malicious ads pose a significant threat to Google. After all, if users come to fear where Google's results (paid or unpaid) might lead them, Google risks losing one of its most valuable assets: the trust and confidence of its users.

When visitors to The New York Times website began falling victim to a fake anti-virus ad that attempted to install malware on readers' computers, some, myself included, suspected that the ad was probably being served through an ad network.

According to The Times, about half of the ads that are served on its website come from ad networks and they are an obvious target for scammers looking to distribute rogue ads that deliver malware.

But as it turns out, the rogue ad that was wreaking havoc with some Times readers was actually sold by The New York Times itself.